


Redirection

by iceprinceloki



Series: The Decent Moments [15]
Category: Vampire Chronicles - Anne Rice
Genre: Feels, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Relationship(s), Therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:48:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22925908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iceprinceloki/pseuds/iceprinceloki
Summary: Lestat and David go for another therapy session but their therapist is rather odd, luckily for him they are vacant
Relationships: Lestat de Lioncourt/David Talbot
Series: The Decent Moments [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1593007
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Redirection

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really tired you guys, my new job is hellish, this spa hasn't officially opened yet but we are still serving clients and there is no stock, no costings have been done, nothing has been done. i'm swamped with work its actually ridiculous. I'm working 9-5 and still taking work home and working until 9 at night. And I'm so busy I'm not eating except at night. I'm trying to keep writing because as I said I really love this story and I want to finish it, but bear with me because i'm really spinning
> 
> Set during Advantage taken

Lestat and David had been going to Dr Ellis for two weeks and things between them were steadily improving. They had one serious fight that night which prompted their emergency visit to Dr Ellis. Marius had come to the flat in the Rue Royal and tried to talk to them about what had happened with Armand.

‘I heard he has been attacked and injured but when I tried to go see him I was pushed back by your son!’ He scowled at Lestat. ‘I have every right to go see my fledgling if he is injured.’

‘You’re a complete idiot.’ David snapped. ‘You don’t know that you’re the one who attacked him?’

Marius had the gall to look surprised and then indignant. ‘Not this rubbish again! I have told all of you that I am trying to help Amadeo return to himself.’

‘He isn’t Amadeo anymore Marius…’ Lestat said in a small voice, he didn’t really want to discuss this with Marius; having seen the attack for himself. ‘You need to stop before you break him so badly he can’t stand the sight of you; so badly that your relationship will cease to exist except in polite company.’

Lestat was speaking from experience, a sentiment David caught quickly and didn’t appreciate. The atmosphere cooled as David felt pricked by the comment and Marius felt angered by their disapproval.

‘I believe my time in New Orleans is over.’ He said coldly. ‘I thank you for your hospitality.’

Marius left without them having the chance to reply and David gave Lestat a filthy look.

‘What?’ Lestat asked, voice lilting with confusion. ‘What did I do?’

David huffed and turned on his heel to stalk away. Lestat caught him by the arm. ‘David talk to me. What did I do? Do you think I shouldn’t have told him that?’

‘I think you shouldn’t feel the truth of what you said.’

Lestat stared at him blankly and David scoffed irritably. ‘I shouldn’t expect you to not feel how you do about how things ended with Louis.’

Lestat made a face of sudden understanding and he sighed exasperatedly. ‘David we’ve talked about this haven’t we? I don’t want to be with Louis.’

‘No but you feel bad for what you did and you’re dreading how things will be between you now that you have separated in such uncomfortable circumstances.’ David replied softly, trying to sooth Lestat and avoid making a huge fuss.

Lestat laughed at him. Laughed. David scowled and tried to leave again but Lestat, still laughing, wouldn’t let him go.

‘You’re being stupid David!’

David shoved at Lestat’s chest angrily. ‘Let me go! I don’t want to talk to you. I didn’t open my mouth for you to laugh at my feelings!’

Lestat glared at him. ‘I am not laughing at your feelings!’

‘You just did!’  
‘I wasn’t laughing at your feelings I was laughing at how you still think you know everything!’  
‘Well maybe that the problem Lestat! Maybe me not knowing everything is the whole damn problem!’  
‘What the hell do you want to know?!’

David and Lestat were nose to nose, both fuming and trying to better the other.

‘What all happened between you and Louis? What was so bad?’

Lestat let go of David and stepped back, it was not something he wanted to discuss. David had a vague idea of what he’d done to Louis but he hadn’t told him the full story; he didn’t see a reason why he should.

‘We’re partners, we should be honest and share everything regardless of how insignificant or irrelevant we think it is.’

David always seemed to be able to read his mind although Lestat knew it wasn’t possible. Lestat made his decision and took David by the wrist, pulling him out the front door to the street.

David sputtered angrily. ‘What are you doing!?’

‘We are going to see Dr Ellis, I can’t do this on my own without screwing it up.’

David followed in stunned silence, worried about what he was about to hear. They barged into Dr Ellis’ office, knowing he didn’t have other nocturnal clients and David hissed angrily at Lestat as they clearly interrupted a phone call.

‘-it might not be a good idea to dive back in, I’m worried you’ll disassociate through the process and cement that coping method; which will be ridiculous to get rid of. Or you might be thrown back into the trauma and the experience will be entirely negative and you won’t repeat it. Either way you will be worse off than you are now.’ He paused to listen to the reply. ‘Why don’t you just try the redirection therapy I told you about?’

David and Lestat sat silently waiting for him to finish his call. David looked curious but was being respectful and not listening while Lestat was lost in thought about Louis and how he was going to explain everything to David.

‘I know it isn’t easy to talk to your partners but if you explain the therapy to them ‘m sure they’d be happy to help. If you’d like I can even tell them-’ He was cut off apparently by the client shouting denials. ‘Alright they don’t need to know about me…but you need to realize that the first step for you is confiding in those you love and trust; I understand that it’s difficult to trust right now, I understand that. Just because you don’t speak about it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen; you have to acknowledge that. You can’t go on until you have spoken up and been open about the trauma. You are not the first nor will you be the last to endure this, but you can’t do it alone and you certainly can’t do it by taking measures that will do more harm than good right now.’

Lestat looked up at the Dr and mused that the man was very good about holding his ground and enforcing the boundaries with his patients.

‘I don’t think you are ready, that’s all I am saying, I don’t think you are in the right headspace to start engaging again….’ He waited for a reply and listened patiently. ‘Alright, it’s your choice, but if you feel at all afraid, panicked, frozen, or if you have flashbacks please stop and take a breath, take the time to talk to them. I would however prefer that you just consider what I’ve said and think about telling them about the incident and how you’ve been feeling and think about the redirection therapy. I want you to continue with the nightmare journal and I want you to keep on with tracking your blank spots in memory and the panic attacks. You know you can reach me at any time if anything happens. Alright goodnight.’

He hung up and gave them an apologetic smile. ‘I’m so sorry, I had an emergency call. I wasn’t expecting you either, is something wrong?’

David and Lestat looked at each other for a moment and then looked away, each feeling guilty. Dr Ellis sighed and shook his head.

‘What happened?’

They explained between them what had occurred with Marius and what had been said between them afterwards.

‘I’m just overreacting I know, but I think I’m allowed to be upset that Lestat is still thinking about Louis.’ David said looking tired and making himself as small as he could in the chair.

Lestat was watching him with a worried frown of his face and reached a hand to hold David’s. ‘David it isn’t about being with him it’s about feeling regret and sorrow for what happened between us. Not in the sense that I wish I’d done differently so that we would still be together, but because I should never have hurt him regardless of what the outcome would have been.’

Dr Ellis smiled as he watched them communicated; he took great pleasure in seeing couples improve. This particular couple with their odd friends and relations and their own odd history kept him very amused and on the ball. He had never had more challenging patients than his nocturnal brood.

‘I understand David wanting to know what happened in your past relationship to turn it sour, and I know from our sessions that it’s not a pretty history so I am glad you came here to discuss it.’ He said to them with a genial smile. ‘Lestat it’s not going to hurt the relationship for you to confide the gist of things to David, you don’t have to go into detail but give enough that he can understand the situation. Take your time and David please wait until he finishes talking before you ask questions.’

Lestat spoke quietly about the years he and Louis had shared and how he had acted, the crimes he committed against Louis. David listened raptly and seemed to get more and more sorrowful as Lestat spoke. When Lestat had finished David turned away from him. 

‘Do you hate me?’ Lestat whispered. ‘I’ll understand if you want to-’

‘No I just…..I just didn’t know it was that bad. I didn’t know you’d done so much bad.’ David said softly. ‘I was angry with Louis at a stage for leaving me with you when we were in our own difficulties. I thought he was being selfish and careless and that he simply didn’t care about you enough to stay. I feel bad for judging him.’

‘You’re going to leave me.’

David looked back at his maker and shook his head slowly as he thought. ‘No, you have never treated me like that, I know it’s something you are passed. I just needed to know why he wanted me to be with you. I wanted to know why he didn’t want to be with you.’

Lestat shut his eyes tightly and breathed out nervously, David took his hand and squeezed reassuringly. ‘I understand now how you feel Lestat…’

Dr Ellis smiled as he wished them a goodnight later on, his nocturnal clients were all very strange, but he wouldn’t know what to do without them.


End file.
